Democratic Party (Switzerland)

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The Democratic Party (DP) was a political party in Switzerland .

history

After the complete revision of the Swiss Federal Constitution in 1874, the Democratic Movement had achieved its goals at the federal level and dissolved. The political alliance, to which various groups such as workers, tradesmen and peasants belonged, continued to exist. Democratic parties have been founded in some cantons .

The democrats were nationally oriented, for direct democracy and the expansion of people's rights, state interventionist , for state monopolies and social reforms as well as against the class struggle and considered the culture struggle to be outdated.

Canton Zurich

The Democratic Party of the Canton of Zurich emerged in the 1860s as a social and democratic movement that was directed against the liberal " Escher System ". The party tradition regards 1867 as the "founding year" when large "democratic" popular assemblies were held. In these meetings, a fundamental (social and direct democratic) renewal of the canton was called for (the so-called École de Winterthour ). The result was the cantonal constitution of 1869. Up until the turn of the 20th century, the Democratic Party was regarded as a movement that represented decidedly left-wing positions. In her stronghold of Winterthur she even represented left-liberal positions until her merger with the FDP . The party lost its initially absolute majority in the cantonal government and cantonal council in the crisis of 1880. The reasons for this included the national railway debacle (1878), the resurgence of the Liberal Party, but above all the increasing importance of the labor movement and the Social Democratic Party (1897). When the FDP Switzerland was founded in 1894, it became part of this party, but retained extensive independence. In 1941 it split again from the FDP. In the post-war period it became meaningless.

Other cantons

Further cantonal parties emerged in the cantons of St. Gallen (1881 and 1888), Thurgau (1891), Glarus (1902) and Appenzell Ausserrhoden (1906). In other cantons, the Democrats joined the Liberal Party . In 1905 the eastern Swiss democratic cantonal parties founded the Swiss Democratic Party. The Thurgau and St. Gallen sections dissolved again after 1930. The Graubünden Democratic Party, founded in 1919, played an important role in the 1930s and 1940s.

Federal Democrats

In the Federal Assembly from 1935 to 1941, together with the young farmers (but without the Zurich Democrats), they formed the Free and Democratic Group. She supported crisis initiatives and guideline movements , turned against fascism, against political Catholicism and campaigned for the independence of Switzerland and for the participation of the Swiss Social Democratic Party in government .

The young farmers developed politically to the right. Criticism of the liberal politics increased among the Zurich Democrats. This led to the collapse of the previous coalition and a Swiss Democratic Party was founded in 1941, which was particularly important in the cantons of Graubünden and Glarus and for a short time in the canton of Zurich.

resolution

In 1965 a federal popular initiative against foreign infiltration was submitted, which was withdrawn again in 1968 under pressure from business and the Federal Council. So they hoped for new followers, but they did not materialize. In 1971 the Graubünden and Glarus democrats founded the new SVP together with the farmers, trade and citizens' party . The Zurich Democrats rejoined the FDP , with the exception of the Dübendorf, Effretikon, Winterthur and Dietikon sections, which continued to exist.

The Winterthur section separated from the cantonal party at the beginning of the 1990s due to a clear social liberal course of the section and continued to politicize under the name The Other Party until its dissolution in 2000 . On May 5, 2009, the Dübendorf section switched to the newly founded Civil Democratic Party (BDP). The Dietikon section, the only remaining section, decided at its general assembly on April 12, 2011 to try a new start as the Democratic Party of the city of Dietikon with new statutes and a new party program and was able to take a seat on the municipal council in the elections on February 9, 2014 to fetch.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Federal Chancellery BK: Federal popular initiative 'Überfremdung'. Retrieved June 13, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Martin Agustoni wants to lead the Democratic Party out of the opposition. Retrieved June 13, 2020 (Swiss Standard German).